- Subject: NPS Morning Report - Wednesday, July 31, 1996
- Date: Wed, 31 Jul 1996
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
MORNING REPORT
To: All National Park Service Areas and Offices
From: Division of Ranger Activities, Washington Office
Day/Date: Wednesday, July 31, 1996
Broadcast: By 1000 ET
INCIDENTS
96-418 - Sequoia-Kings Canyon (California) - Follow-up on Search for Ranger
The search continues for seasonal backcountry ranger Randy Morgenson, 54, who
has not been seen or heard from since Sunday, July 21st. Ninety-two people
from five organizations and agencies are currently involved in the search, 63
of them in the field. Included are eight dog teams. Four helicopters were
deployed yesterday; an Army Blackhawk with forward-looking infrared (FLIR)
detection equipment was utilized Sunday night, but without success. No
definitive clues have yet been found. The search effort will focus on the
Arrow Peak and Lake Basin areas today. If nothing turns up, a reassessment
of options will be made tonight. Searchers are also looking into the
possibility that Morgenson may be outside the search area. [Debbie Bird, CR,
SEKI]
96-425 - Yosemite (California) - Two MVAs with Injuries
Employees in the Wawona district responded to a report of a cement truck that
went off the road near Glacier Point on June 24th. The driver was trapped in
the truck, which had rolled on its side and struck a large tree. He was
extricated and taken to the park clinic with minor injuries. The truck was
separated from its cement barrel and removed that day, but a crane was
required to remove the 25-ton barrel. On June 30th, Wawona rangers responded
to an accident on the Mariposa Grove road. A vehicle with four occupants
went off the road, rolled over several times, then came to rest 65 feet down
an embankment. The driver suffered a severe head injury and was flown by air
ambulance to a trauma center in Fresno, where he is now in stable condition.
[Todd Brindle, Wawona District, YOSE]
96-426 - Yosemite (California) - Apparent Suicide
On June 28th, park dispatch received a phone request to locate and check on
36-year-old L.W. of Fresno, who had not shown up for work and had a
history of depression and suicide attempts. A Wawona ranger found her car on
the Glacier Point Road within an hour. She had apparently committed suicide
through a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Members of the park's
investigations unit investigated the incident. [Jeff Sullivan, CI, YOSE]
FIRE ACTIVITY
NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS LEVEL - Level III
LARGE FIRE/INCIDENT SUMMARY
% Est
State Unit Fire/Incident IMT 7/30 7/31 Con Con
OR Deschutes NF Jefferson T1 3,648 3,648 92 7/31
Ochoco NF Little Cabin -- 1,500 1,000 75 7/31
Vale District * Bogus Creek -- - 20,000 0 NEC
Burns District * Buzzard -- - 500 0 NEC
* Rocky Ford -- - 100 0 NEC
WA Vale District * Deep Canyon -- - 150 NR NEC
ID Boise District * Coyote Butte -- - 10,000 20 8/1
Snowbank T2 100 146 20 8/1
* Grindstone -- - 600 0 8/1
SoCent Idaho District * Pioneer -- - 150 100 CND
Bitterroot NF Swet Creek -- 1,100 1,100 0 NEC
UT Fishlake NF Hens Peak -- 190 190 100 CND
CA Seq.-Kings Canyon NP Castle Cx -- 1,175 1,390 0 NEC
Inyo NF Buttermilk -- 150 150 100 CND
San Diego RU * Slaughter House -- - 600 0 NEC
MT State * Wolf -- - 350 80 7/30
AK Statewide 32 fires -- 472,348 472,413 -- NSS
GA NPS - Atlanta Area Olympics 96 T2 - - - -
Heading Notes
Unit -- Agency = BIA area; NF = national forest; RU = CA state resource
or ranger unit; RD = state ranger district; District = BLM
district; NWR = USFWS wildlife refuge
Fire -- * = newly reported fire (on this report); Cx = complex; LSS =
limited suppression strategy; CSS = containment suppression
strategy
IMT -- T1 = Type 1; T2 = Type II; ST = State Team
% Con -- Percent of fire contained
Est Con -- Estimated containment date; NEC = no estimated date of
containment; CND = fully contained; NR = no report; LPS = limited
protection status
FIRE/INCIDENT NARRATIVES
Olympics 96 Incident, Atlanta Area Parks - Visitation at all three parks has
increased dramatically, possibly due to the tension surrounding Centennial
Olympic Park. Visitation increased by between 75 and 100 percent at Kennesaw
Mountain, nearly 300 percent at Chattahoochee, and 350 percent at Martin
Luther King. Attorney Johnny Cochran and his family toured Martin Luther
King yesterday.
NUMBER OF NEW FIRES (THREE DAY TREND)
NPS BIA BLM FWS States USFS Total
Sunday, 7/28 4 5 17 0 48 53 127
Monday, 7/29 6 8 19 0 129 49 211
Tuesday, 7/30 0 8 69 0 77 190 344
TOTAL COMMITTED RESOURCES (THREE DAY TREND)
Crews Engines Helicopters Airtankers Overhead
Sunday, 7/28 205 253 66 2 738
Monday, 7/29 182 197 64 5 955
Tuesday, 7/30 151 279 62 8 563
CURRENT SITUATION
There was a significant increase in both initial attack and large fires in
the Northwest yesterday. Lightning also kindled several range fires in the
Northwest and eastern Great Basin.
NATIONAL OUTLOOK
NICC has posted a FIRE WEATHER WATCH for gusty west winds for the eastern
two-thirds of Washington.
Fire activity is expected to be moderate through most of the West, but may
increase in eastern Washington due to windy conditions.
[NICC Incident Management Situation Report, 7/31; Cheri Anderson, IO,
Olympics 96 Incident, 7/30]
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
No submissions.
OPERATIONAL NOTES
Uniform Program FY 96 Closeout - The fiscal year is about to come to an end,
which means that it is again time to closeout current uniform allowances and
pending business with the contractor and prepare for the coming fiscal year.
Instructions on closeout procedures are now being mailed to each park and
office uniform program administrator from R&R Uniforms. Here are the key
points:
o Uniform allowances authorized for FY 1996 cannot be applied beyond the
end of the fiscal year. Uniform orders placed against FY 1996
allowances must be postmarked to R&R no later than September 10th or
telefaxed to R&R no later than September 13th. Existing backorders
will be charged against current allowance balances and will be shipped
as soon as R&R receives the merchandise. All outstanding dealings with
R&R must be resolved before the end of September. Credits should be
applied, refunds made, and exchanges completed as soon as possible.
o Park uniform program administrators will soon be receiving the annual
Consolidated Uniform Allowance Report, which is to be employed to
reauthorize uniform allowances for permanent employees. This is the
only documentation which is required for these employees; in order to
assure that their accounts are activated for FY 1997, it is imperative
that the printouts be reviewed, certified and returned to R&R Uniforms
before the September 1st deadline. Any adjustments or corrections to
the information contained in the report may be made in writing on the
page itself. The superintendent or her/his designated representative
must then sign each page of the report to certify its validity - this
means all pages, even those without any changes. Unsigned reports will
be returned.
o Since temporary and seasonal employees do not appear on the CUAR
printout, UAAs for replacement allowances must be prepared and
submitted for any seasonals who are still on the roles on October 1st.
Please keep in mind that seasonal employees working any part of a
period qualify for the full amount of the replacement allowance for
that period. In so far as is possible, new UAAs should be sent to R&R
at the same time as the CUAR.
o Price changes will take effect on October 1st under a contractual
provision whereby R&R is permitted an annual adjustment based on the
Producer Price Index (PPI) for the previous year. Existing order forms
will therefore be invalid after September 30th, and orders received
after the closeout date will be returned for resubmission on new order
forms. R&R will send new forms to all park uniform coordinators by
late September.
Ordering for the new fiscal year will begin as soon as an appropriations bill
or continuing resolution is passed by the Congress and signed by the
President. There is no way of forecasting how long this process may take.
It is therefore important that employees complete orders for uniform
components before this fiscal year closes out. [Bill Halainen, Chair, NPS
Uniform Committee, DEWA]
MEMORANDA
No submissions.
EXCHANGE
No submissions.
OBSERVATIONS
Seasonal ranger David Rothenburger at Yellowstone has sent along this clip
from Edward Abbey which hangs in the Tower ranger station:
"Do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am - a reluctant enthusiast, a part-
time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and
your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the
West; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it is
still there. So get out there with your friends, ramble out yonder and
explore the forest, encounter the griz, climb the mountains, bag the peaks,
run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for
a while and contemplate the precious stillness, that loverly, mysterious,
awesome space."
Edward Abbey, quoted in "Wild
Oregon", January, 1979
Distribution of the Morning Report is through a mailing list managed by park,
office and/or field area cc:Mail hub coordinators. Please address requests
for the Morning Report to your servicing hub coordinator.
Prepared by the Division of Ranger Activities, WASO, with the cooperation and
support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.
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